Mother’s Day is for Mom

Hey there! You’re listening to the Mighty Mommy with some quick and dirty tips for practical parenting.

A Word From the Mighty Husband

Wait a minute! I’m not the Mighty Mommy. Actually, I’m the Mighty Mommy’s husband, Dan. Don’t tell her that I hijacked her show, OK? But, I thought it was important that I get this information out to you! You see, Sunday, May 9th is Mother’s Day. This can be a very scary time for us dads. It’s one of those holidays where we really feel the need to step up and do the right thing for our wives and our moms. So, I thought I’d sneak on here and share some of the tips my wife has been collecting about what moms really want for Mother’s Day. Thank you to everyone on Facebook and Twitter who helped compile this wonderful list of ideas!

Provide a chance to sleep in:Pamalalala, Mamascup, Tangokjewelry, Jennifer, and Kim would all enjoy the opportunity to sleep in. Sleeping in is definitely nice. If you can get up with the kiddos and somehow prevent them from waking up the mommy, you’d definitely be starting the day out right! Kim even suggested the idea of making it possible for the mommy in your life to lounge around in bed all day just reading or watching TV.

Offer a day off: Some moms like JennWhitmer, Spellwight, and Lisacoke31 simply request “a day off” where someone else does all the work. Hey! Who wouldn’t like a day off once in a while? That is something that moms don’t get to see very often. Whether moms work at home or away from home, being a mom is their full-time gig, and days off are few and far between. My wife would probably love a day off! It would be like a mini-vacation.

Give her time alone: This brings me to these two great suggestions which I’m combining into one:

Stephanie suggested a night away to a hotel all by herself and RC suggested that all the moms get together and leave the husbands and kids at home. Send the moms out for a nice lunch together. They can hit up a hotel with a spa and then retire to their own room. I’d recommend sending them on Saturday. This way they can wake up on Mother’s Day whenever they want, then come home and have a nice quiet day with the family! Can you imagine how relaxed mom would be?

Do some chores: Some moms, like Patience, would love a cleaned house and other moms like Amy would appreciate a quiet house. Several moms also included “no fighting or arguing” in their requests. So, dads, while mom is out pampering herself or lunching with friends or doing both, straighten up the house and encourage the children to get along with one another. Even if you don’t do it exactly the same way Mom would, she’ll still appreciate it. Try to do that little something extra that you don’t always do. Or if you know there’s a chore that your wife always appreciates you doing, try to get that out of the way before she gets out of bed or before she comes home. My wife always seems to love it when I mop the floors. If you know what makes her happy, go for it. If you don’t know, you may need to ask. Don’t be afraid, but do try to ask as soon as possible so that she has time to respond and you have time to prepare.

Treat her to a meal: Some other suggestions were for meals. For the moms that do a lot of cooking for you, consider khamilton611’s suggestion for a nice lunch out or hotelqueen’s recommendation of a homemade breakfast cooked by someone else.

Give a good gift:Moore523 wants to go shopping for summer clothes. You could give mom a gift card and send her out shopping for the day. Maybe Mom has a special gift that she’s already told you about like donttickleme who already received her spiffy new handlebars and gel seat for her bicycle. Is there something you could upgrade or improve on too? If it’s gift-giving that you are focused on, make sure it’s something Mom really wants. For the mom that loves to be pampered, gift certificates for manicures, pedicures, and massages are almost always a hit. My wife certainly loves her pedicures!

Spend time together: If Mom wants to spend time with the family, like Unemployed_Mom who says she’d like to spend the day with her husband and son, then make a day of it. You can go out to lunch or a movie or you can plan some fun activities at home. Just enjoy your time together. And as WAHMcafe and Jennifer both suggest, be sure to say “thank you” for all Mom does. Recognition means a lot to moms. They work hard all year to take care of everyone. Mother’s Day is one of the days you can really take care of the moms in your life in a special.

Follow Mighty Mommy’s favorite tip: Finally, the last suggestion I’m sharing was the Mighty Mommy’s favorite. It came from kaboogie on Twitter. She requested “Hugs. Just like every day. In my perfect world, every day is Mother’s Day.”

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So, as a dad and a son, I find these tips and suggestions very helpful and now I know exactly what I’m going to do for Mother’s Day. I’m not just going to appreciate the moms in my life; I’m going to show them how much I appreciate them and you should too.